NATO

While Germany's opposition hopes the French Socialist victory will reflect poorly on European policies on the debt crisis and on Berlin, Angela Merkel insists on a continuation of the current course. READ MORE

Francois Hollande’s election victory Sunday over Nicolas Sarkozy and the losses by Greece’s main political parties, are only the latest examples of the growing anti-austerity backlash in Europe. The Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, resigned last month after the populist, right-wing Freedom Party withdrew its support in opposition to a proposed €14.2 billion austerity package, which included cuts to healthcare spending and increases in the retirement age. The Dutch government has been one of the few in Europe to maintain its AAA credit rating throughout the crisis, a sign that support for fiscal tightening is endangered even in the stronger economies. READ MORE

Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday failed to win reelection as president of France. He was defeated by François Hollande, who is only the second Socialist to hold the post since direct election started in 1958. READ MORE

Eight years ago, on 29 March 2004, Lithuania joined NATO. Today there are several aspects which should be discussed with regard to the membership. At the beginning let me remind several interim stops in Lithuania’s road toward the Alliance. READ MORE

Jeyranchel, in northeastern Azerbaijan covers an area of about 62 square kilometres just along the Georgian border. It was also the site of a live firing range, used from 1955 until 1991 by the former Soviet Army. Now the range lies abandoned and unused, with unexploded munitions littering the ground around it. READ MORE

CA-NEWS (CA) - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the Alliance wants to include a number of Central Asian countries in NATO deliberations on the future development in Afghanistan, reported the Silk Road Newsline. READ MORE

As campaigning continues ahead of the 6 May run-off for French president both candidates set out on Monday to court the more than six million people who voted for the far-right Front National party of Marine Le Pen in Sunday’s first round. READ MORE

“We, devoted allies in the very meaning of this word, have common interests and common concerns, as well as common actions to settle them. The last is proved, in particular, by firm support from Poland of the prolongation of NATO mission on Baltic States Air Policing", -- said the President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves during yesterday’s and today’s meeting of the Heads of states of Estonia, Latvia and Poland held in Warsaw. READ MORE